1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of injection systems in general and to the field of providing a non pressure regulated nitrous oxide/fuel mixture to a combustion cylinder, in particular.
2. Background
In internal combustion engines, a mixture of air and fuel is burned in a combustion chamber (cylinder) with the force generated by the combustion being utilized to provide mechanical energy such as to turn a drive shaft. Typically, the air and fuel are mixed prior to their introduction to the cylinder, such as for instance, in a carburetor. In order to increase the efficiency of the combustion process, it is often desired to "inject" the fuel into the combustion chamber. In an injection system, the fuel and air are separately introduced to the combustion chamber. There, mixing occurs and, ideally, the fuel is vaporized. Such vaporization maximizes the surface area of fuel exposed to oxygen at a given time. This increases the speed and efficiency of combustion. In the prior art, this injection is accomplished by the use of nozzles that inject fuel into a port, which is manifolding air into the combustion chamber.
For high performance it is sometimes desired to introduce nitrous oxide into the combustion chamber along with the fuel. The nitrous oxide/fuel mixture is more combustible than air and fuel alone, leading to greater energy in the burn and consequently increased mechanical energy. In order to maximize the efficiency of the nitrous oxide/fuel mixture combination, it is desired to inject the mixture in an atomized form to form a fog with a multitude of small fuel droplets. In addition, it is desired to utilize the nitrous oxide as a means of atomizing the air/fuel mixture.
A disadvantage with prior art injection systems utilizing nitrous oxide is the poor mixing of the nitrous oxide and fuel. The nitrous oxide is highly pressurized, often in the range of 500-1000 PSI. The fuel, however, is under low pressure, typically approximately 7 PSI. When typically a separate nitrous oxide nozzle and fuel nozzle are used to mix the nitrous oxide and fuel, the fuel is injected in the form of a stream that is splattered about the manifold and will puddle in the manifold or the combustion chamber, and will therefore be very difficult to ignite. This combustion is not efficient for the amount of fuel being used (injected).
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for injecting a nitrous oxide/fuel mixture to a combustion chamber, such as a cylinder of an internal combustion engine, without inhibiting combustion because the fuel is entering the combustion chamber in a non vaporized from.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a means of injecting fuel into a combustion chamber in which nitrous oxide is introduced into the mixture and is used to aid in the atomizing of the fuel.